Happy Fall, Curlers!
Welcome back and I hope you are excited for another year of curling! The board has been busy since April getting the club ready for a new season and we can’t wait to show you the results of our work!
We would like to invite you to the curling club on Wednesday, October 23rd at 5:30pm for a pre-season club meeting and to setup the warming house, kitchen, and hopefully new stones for the season. At the start there will be a few words about the new stones and what comes next for the club and the season. Many hands make light work! Here is a link to signup, please come help and share the excitement of the beginning of a new season.
Some of this news you may have already heard of, but if not, we recently purchased 80 new curling stones for the club! This was all accomplished through support of your fellow Mankato Curling Club members. I cannot thank everyone who has already donated enough. To date we have been able to raise over $67,000! This isn’t the whole amount due for the rocks, but it was enough for us to place an order with Kays Scotland. The rocks have been made from green and blue Ailsa Craig granite, shipped by boat to Montreal, and are now on trains to Minneapolis. In fact, the rocks are expected to arrive in Minnesota this weekend! We are still working on logistics for when they will reach the club, but I’m excited to say we will have new rocks by the start of early season. After we get the rocks there are only 3 things left to do: finish the funding, attach the handles, and enjoy! We still owe about $7,800 for the stones themselves, and another $4,000 in shipping and customs costs. If you can help us finish paying off these expenses, we will be able to continue improving our ice quality, make updates to our club, and keep our membership dues as low as possible. Whether you can give $5, $5000, or any amount in between, I would be truly grateful.
Another change for this year will be an earlier draw time for our weekday leagues. First draw for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday leagues will start at 6:15pm, fifteen minutes earlier. We will also be changing our bell system. The bell will be rung at 8:00pm, this will signal a 10 minute warning to finish your game. The bell will be rung again at 8:10pm, which will be the end of your game, regardless of the number of stones thrown or end your game is on. This is all in effort to get first draw off the ice and allow the ice team to prepare the ice for the next draw. We heard many complaints about 8:30pm draws not actually starting until almost 9pm. We want to respect everyone’s time, and currently think this is the best action we can take to allow both draws to start on time. We will be watching closely during early leagues, and may make adjustments for the regular season.
We hope you join us this year for our bonspiels! We’ve introduced early bird pricing, which is a $20 discount for each person on your team if you register more than 2 weeks before the spiel. Our first bonspiel, the Harvest Spiel is coming up November 15-16, which we have updated to a 6-end, two-day spiel, perfect for families, or curlers who may be looking for a smaller commitment for the weekend. First prize for the Harvest Spiel is a free entry to any of our other Bonspiels this year for each of the team members! Signup today on our website.
Lastly, I want to touch on the club as a whole. For 121 years our club has been completely volunteer run and I am so appreciative of everyone who has taken time out of their lives to support our club throughout that time. I cannot imagine the number of hours we all have put into this organization. Though as the world continues to change, we too must adapt. I am dedicated to keeping Mankato Curling Club affordable, fun, and an organization run by us, the members. To secure our legacy, so that we may continue for another 100+ years, and to keep these goals attainable I am asking a few favors of you all. Please continue to give your time or donations to the club. Volunteering is always needed, whether it’s bonspiels, ice making, or other activities around the club. If you see someone helping out, likely they are a volunteer. Be thankful, and let them know how much you appreciate them supporting the club. Please speak up, join the board, or join one of our many communities. This is the best way for us to address issues that may be frustrating, concerning, or overall improvements to the club. Finally, please be understanding as we make changes that are not always the fun answer, but the solution that ensures we are sustainable for a long time to come.
If you want to talk please reach out to me, or the board. It is our role to help lead the club as well as answer to you, our members and friends. I can’t wait for the club to be open, ice to be done, and to see you all again for another year!
Good Curling and thank you for your membership.
Blake Grotewold
President of the Board of Directors
